143 replies to this topic

[PiquetPete]

And Alonso has signed for two! Great news!

[neilmundy]

Source that Alonso has signed for two years? I would of thought one more year and then he would see what Ferrari are doing in 2010.

[FA and RK fan]

source please

Oh yeah and great news

[K-One]

and Kovy got sacked after beating Fisi soundly

Well, Flav is Flav, no doubt about that

[Korben82]

What? It says here: http://www.elmundo.e...1225881932.html

(spanish newspaper)

that it'll be Alonso and Grosjean in Renault 09.

Also, in AS: http://www.as.com/mo...dasdasmot_2/Tes

Alonso in Renault until 2011, with an option to go in 2010 if Ferrari calls.

[PiquetPete]

http://www.ing-renaultf1.com/en/

official Renault F1 site is the source!

[postajegenye]

No official annoncement yet...

[postajegenye]

Originally posted by postajegenye
No official annoncement yet...

Oh I spoke too early

[K-One]

Kimi has 2 years as well ?

[Korben82]

Originally posted by PiquetPete
http://www.ing-renaultf1.com/en/

official Renault F1 site is the source!

Ok, elmundo.es blew it

So it's Alonso and Piquet again!

[lukywill]

it's pk.

but elmundo says Grosjean.

[postajegenye]

Renault's official website is down for me, does it say what kind of contract they signed with Alonso? Two years with an option to leave?

[lukywill]

they say the contract is extended for another 2 seasons.

and pk for 1 season.

[Risil]

A good, pragmatic decision IMO. Di Grassi's shown nothing in GP2 that Piquet hasn't, and Grosjean has by no means proved he's ready for F1 yet. If Piquet doesn't perform next year, those two will remain options to replace him, too.

Alonso for another two years, though, wow, that's the most interesting thing. But then Renault are for once one of the few manufacturers not threatening to pull out of the sport. And they've won more races in the last two months than BMW and Honda put together.;)

Perhaps reading a lot into this, but bearing in mind Piquet's comments on Renault wanting a French driver, and Montagny now being happily immersed in ALMS, can we take this as an indicator that Bourdais's held onto the Toro Rosso seat?

[eoin]

Right decision IMO. People were calling for his head after a few races, which isn't going to help his cause this year. Too much pressure to do "a hamilton".

[Peter Perfect]

Renault will be pleased to keep Alonso for another year, even if he's spent most of this one looking over his shoulder at Ferrari. He's a top driver who's on it each and every weekend. Fingers crossed Renault develop a good car for next year and we end up with a 4-way fight for the WDC (c'mon, let a Honda fan dream!;))

As for Piquet...at the start of the season I thought he'd give Alonso a run for his money. He'd had plenty of testing with the team and so knew the car and pit-crew, he'd run Hamilton close in GP2 and his dad had been there and seen it so he wasn't short on advice. Somehow though it's all fallen apart. The first half of the season he was struggling badly before slowly pulling it back and gaining a degree of respectability at the end. I honestly don't know why he's struggling so badly. There were the rumours that he wasn't getting the latest equipment or being allowed to set-up his own car, but there was no hard proof that that was the case. I know Flav tends to run a one-hourse team so possibly Piquet crumbled a bit in his role as backup. In any case the only reasons I can see for keeping Piquet there is continuity and being no threat to Alonso. I just haven't seen the raw pace that would encourage me to keep him on.

[Henri Greuter]

With Alonso staying on for another year an unimpressive cockpitfiller was needed to begin with to keep Alonso happy. Especially if Renault manages to increase their level again like they appear to do. You don't want both renault drivers challenging for the title if one of them is Alonso.
So why not keep that lappuppy they already waste a car on another year? You know at least about him that he is unharmful to upset FA because of being as competitive as he is.
Indeed a "great decision"
The more while GP2 yielded nothing outsanding this year....

Henri

[PiquetPete]

I was so excited at the news that I titled the thread Piquets instead of Piquet Been waiting for the news for so long. I was getting depressed at the thought he'd be chucked out after a year - some drivers take a little longer to show their true worth and as it has been said Di Grassi hasn't shown the potential that Nelson has. The benefit of the doubt should pay dividends.

Going from memory and I am probably wrong here but Nelson Snr didn't even make his F1 debut until he was about 27 or 28? People mature at different rates and having bombed around Britain watching Nelson Piquet Jnr in F3 I am pretty sure he has a special talent. Bit like his dad in that on certain circuits he is unbeatable and on others he is less so.

If Renault can give him a good car I can see him doing really well next year. Thumbs up Big Flav!

[jcbc3]

Originally posted by Henri Greuter
With Alonso staying on for another year an unimpressive cockpitfiller was needed to begin with to keep ...

The more while GP2 yielded nothing outsanding this year....

Henri

[DiStefano]

Originally posted by Henri Greuter

So why not keep that lappuppy they already waste a car on another year? You know at least about him that he is unharmful to upset FA because of being as competitive as he is.
Indeed a "great decision"

Henri

Maybe that's why Ron extended Heikki's contract too?
As long as he doesn't complain about receiving tyres with low pressures for Q3 and mismatched tyres on sunday, then he can keep his seat.

[BMW_F1]

good news for both Alonso and Piquet..
I see good things coming in the near future.. Piquet just had a bad season (remember Massa? ).. he will overcome these issues and become one of the best drivers on the grid..

[jess]

Originally posted by Henri Greuter
With Alonso staying on for another year an unimpressive cockpitfiller was needed to begin with to keep Alonso happy. Especially if Renault manages to increase their level again like they appear to do. You don't want both renault drivers challenging for the title if one of them is Alonso.
So why not keep that lappuppy they already waste a car on another year? You know at least about him that he is unharmful to upset FA because of being as competitive as he is.
Indeed a "great decision"
The more while GP2 yielded nothing outsanding this year....

Henri

Just like Mclaren. Best move for Alonso. next year anything is possible and piquet will improve. Hes shown potential.

[Buttoneer]

Good for Renault. Alonso and Flav are good for each other, Flav can handle Alonso's occasional fragility and Alonso knows he will get the #1 respect he expects.

[Ricardo F1]

Right choice for both. I don't think Alonso will be looking over at Ferrari too hard, judging by how Renault came on this year and with the major rule changes for next it's quite possible Renault might be ahead of the Scuderia.

[Rob]

What I don't understand is why they were so quick to get rid of Kovalainen, when he showed more promise at Renault than Piquet, who gets a contract extension.

[Henri Greuter]

Originally posted by DiStefano


Maybe that's why Ron extended Heikki's contract too?
As long as he doesn't complain about receiving tyres with low pressures for Q3 and mismatched tyres on sunday, then he can keep his seat.

You've got it....
McLaren is just as much Lewis' team as Alonso insists on the team he drives for being his team....


Henri

[Henri Greuter]

Originally posted by Rob
What I don't understand is why they were so quick to get rid of Kovalainen, when he showed more promise at Renault than Piquet, who gets a contract extension.

Easy:

Piquet is another member of the Briatore Management Agency who was promised an F1 car and Flav (as Renault team manager......) had one in the offering once Kova could go to McLaren and still retain a F1 car as he was promised by the Briatore Management Agency.....


Henri

[Jackman]

So is di Grassi. And Grosjean.

[Imperial]

I suppose if Renault have no ambitions to win the constructors title then they may as well keep Piquet. Clearly it's not a good idea to put a potential race winner in there with Alonso!

This has to be Piquet's last chance to improve though, if he even makes it through the whole season.

I think they were right to ditch Kovalainen to be honest and I think Mclaren made a mistake in hiring him and then extending his deal.

So Piquet has kept his seat....it'll be a travesty if Bourdais loses his...

[AyePirate]

We'll see but, Piquet has a history of struggling his first year in a new formula

[KWSN - DSM]

Renault will put whoever Alonso wants in the second seat, seems that he have no issue in completely dominating Piquet, and Renault understand that winning the WCC is nice, but have no real meaning so getting a happy Alonso worth not getting anything from the second driver in most races.

As only 2 seasons, guess that could be a lineup for a Ferrari seat later?

[Burai]

Good news for Piquet. There's something horribly wrong with the way Renault bring their rookies through and we've seen Kovalainen and Piquet both suffer. They just seemed horribly unprepared for the pressure of a race weekend for the first halves of their respective seasons and come good toward the end of the year. I don't doubt for one second that either di Grassi or Grosjean would have floundered in exactly the same manner.

[Slyder]

Originally posted by Jackman
So is di Grassi. And Grosjean.

True, but it's unfair to Piquet to just dump him after 1 season. Normally, in order to judge a driver effectively, they have to have run at least 2 seasons, and then we'll see what we got.

Di Grassi definitely has potential, but Grosjean is a rough diamond; too many stupid mistakes. He needs at least one more year in GP2 in order to prove he can be a consistent challenger.

[jess]

Originally posted by Burai
Good news for Piquet. There's something horribly wrong with the way Renault bring their rookies through and we've seen Kovalainen and Piquet both suffer. They just seemed horribly unprepared for the pressure of a race weekend for the first halves of their respective seasons and come good toward the end of the year. I don't doubt for one second that either di Grassi or Grosjean would have floundered in exactly the same manner.

Its just because the renault cars have been so bad the last few years which makes it very hard for rookies.

[barteks]

Piquet? What a joke!

[bankoq]

Somehow I can see Piquet really shining on slick tires. His qualy performances from GP2 cannot be coincidence.

[GreyKitten]

Originally posted by PiquetPete
I was so excited at the news that I titled the thread Piquets instead of Piquet Been waiting for the news for so long. I was getting depressed at the thought he'd be chucked out after a year - some drivers take a little longer to show their true worth and as it has been said Di Grassi hasn't shown the potential that Nelson has. The benefit of the doubt should pay dividends.

Going from memory and I am probably wrong here but Nelson Snr didn't even make his F1 debut until he was about 27 or 28? People mature at different rates and having bombed around Britain watching Nelson Piquet Jnr in F3 I am pretty sure he has a special talent. Bit like his dad in that on certain circuits he is unbeatable and on others he is less so.

If Renault can give him a good car I can see him doing really well next year. Thumbs up Big Flav!

Absolutely agreeing with you PiquetPete, I'm excited too! I think we will see better things from young Nelson next year.

I'm probably older than you but back 30 years ago I was trailing around Britian watching Piquet Snr in F3. He was 26 when he had his first F1 drive, but less than a month from his 27th birthday. I've seen Jnr quite a few times in F3 and GP2 and I agree that he does have a special talent which we haven't seen yet in F1.

I'm ecstatic

[Henri Greuter]

Originally posted by Slyder


True, but it's unfair to Piquet to just dump him after 1 season. Normally, in order to judge a driver effectively, they have to have run at least 2 seasons, and then we'll see what we got.

Di Grassi definitely has potential, but Grosjean is a rough diamond; too many stupid mistakes. He needs at least one more year in GP2 in order to prove he can be a consistent challenger.

No offence Slyder, just curious.
How do you think about Bourdais? Pretty much the same situation as Piquet, does he deserve another year too in your eyes because dumping him after one year is unfair?
Again, (given our history ) this is no offence or an attack.

Henri

[BMW_F1]

Originally posted by Rob
What I don't understand is why they were so quick to get rid of Kovalainen, when he showed more promise at Renault than Piquet, who gets a contract extension.

Is my gut feeling that Kova is not as quick as Piquet Jr. .. he is consistently slow and does not make errors..That will not impress any team boss.

[inaki]

Originally posted by Burai
Good news for Piquet. There's something horribly wrong with the way Renault bring their rookies through and we've seen Kovalainen and Piquet both suffer. They just seemed horribly unprepared for the pressure of a race weekend for the first halves of their respective seasons and come good toward the end of the year. I don't doubt for one second that either di Grassi or Grosjean would have floundered in exactly the same manner.

I have seen mani-antiPiquet messages,

Nelsinho is a mistery for me.

He did very good at GP2. Finished after Lewis with one less victory in 2006 (4) and 6 poles. I do not think he is a useless driver. The only logical explanation of his lack of performance should be that Renault is a really difficult car to drive, specially if you are a rookie.

Regarding Kova, I think that he is probably every bit as good as Hamilton, but as he was explaining lately>

Heikki Kovalainen not equal treatment in McLaren
Helsingin Sanomat October 17, 2008 Shanghai

"Lewis is an aggressive and an uncompromising driver, whose reactions can be fierce. And at times they have been excessive," says Kovalainen.

"I've had to dodge his moves myself a couple of times, and I've made it clear to him that I won't be doing that indefinitely. If nothing changes, we're bound to have a collision between us at some point."

For next season, Kovalainen is also calling out for a different attitude towards him from his team.
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that, barring one instance (British GP), I've had a heavier fuel load than Lewis in qualifying." "If you want to have a shot at the championship, you have to qualify in the front row. Even after a good qualifying performance, I'm starting in 4th, 5th or 6th. That doesn't help your race at all."

[santori]

Excellent news. I won't type out again why I think Piquet should be on the grid in 2009 but I do.

[potmotr]

If Renault can keep up the development pace shown in the last half of this season, Alonso could be a World Championship winner for the team again.

I think now he's completely committed to Renault, he'll be even stronger.

I was always left with the impression he didn't really want to be there for the first six months of this year, and that showed in his performance.

Clearly once he becomes comfortable and totally focussed he can draw the team around him and push them forward.

As for Piquet, I think he is quick, but only when he is feeling confident.

Alonso blew him into the weeds early in the season and it showed in the Brazilians performances.

But in the second half of the season he showed some strong races.

And for that reason I think he deserves another shot, because he's clearly very quick when comfortable.

He'll have to deliver next season though, otherwise he'll be out on his arse.

[dde]

Originally posted by inaki


Regarding Kova, I think that he is probably every bit as good as Hamilton, but as he was explaining lately>

He didn't explain anything, he just complained about the strategy. He would be right if the 2 drivers were at the same level, like Hamilton and Alonso in 2007 (but in 2007, they alternated every time so that proves that there was no number one, and Alonso complained enough about him not being number one to be sure of that), but it is not the case. He is simply wery very slow in race trim, and that I'd like him to explain why.

Like Piquet. Being always much much heavier than Alonso doesn't explain why he is so slow and so often in the wall. The only thing there's no need to explain about Piquet, is why he can go for a second year in Renault.

[as65p]

Originally posted by Henri Greuter
With Alonso staying on for another year an unimpressive cockpitfiller was needed to begin with to keep Alonso happy. Especially if Renault manages to increase their level again like they appear to do. You don't want both renault drivers challenging for the title if one of them is Alonso.
So why not keep that lappuppy they already waste a car on another year? You know at least about him that he is unharmful to upset FA because of being as competitive as he is.
Indeed a "great decision"
The more while GP2 yielded nothing outsanding this year....

Henri

Yeah, practically the same situation as over at McLaren. I think they could even swap their no.2 drivers without anyone noticing....

Ironically for the third year in a row now, Ferrari remains the only team to approach the season with a true two-car team.

[potmotr]

Originally posted by as65p


Ironically for the third year in a row now, Ferrari remains the only team to approach the season with a true two-car team.

I'd argue that BMW will have a two car team. And Red Bull Racing. And Honda.

[PiquetPete]

Originally posted by GreyKitten


Absolutely agreeing with you PiquetPete, I'm excited too! I think we will see better things from young Nelson next year.

I'm probably older than you but back 30 years ago I was trailing around Britian watching Piquet Snr in F3. He was 26 when he had his first F1 drive, but less than a month from his 27th birthday. I've seen Jnr quite a few times in F3 and GP2 and I agree that he does have a special talent which we haven't seen yet in F1.

I'm ecstatic

Yeah I think you probably are a bit older lol! First F1 I saw was Piquet Snr in a glorious Brabham in either 82 or 83 and he won the race (Detroit at a guess but that might be 84!)- I just loved the helmet/car colour scheme combination as an impressionable 11 or 12 year old - supported him ever since so it made sense to watch how younger Nelson did. Young Nelson will show a bit more of the really agressive style I witnessed in F3 in F1 season 2 - he pushed like you wouldn't believe when he found himself in midfield - I remembered thinking he was much more aggressive than his dad seemed - but they were different Formulae. The lad didn't do too well at Castle Combe F3 though - ended up in the corn (or whatever!) field on a wet track - think he'd gambled on dry tyres on a very wet but drying track. Before that incident though I remember hearing lots of Dads in the crowd telling their kids - "look that's Piquet Junior" - which I thought was really sweet! The Brits know their stuff - especially at grassroots level. After the race I walked past the Piquet Sports lorry and Junior was in the back looking very downcast - so I said come on Nelson onto the next one and I shook my fist in encouragement! He sort of seemed to agree!

One thing to remember...there's another Piquet doing well isn't there? Another fruit of the Piquet Snr loins was winning go cart championships in South America last time I heard. Wonder if he'll be next? Think he was only about 8 or 9 last time I read about him which was about 18 months ago in Autosport.

One last Piquet jnr memory - his dad pushing his car onto the grid at Castle Combe - himself! Of course I grabbed him and got an autograph! Happy days!

[potmotr]

Originally posted by PiquetPete

One last Piquet jnr memory - his dad pushing his car onto the grid at Castle Combe - himself! Of course I grabbed him and got an autograph! Happy days!

I would like nothing better than to see Piquet Jnr do well. I had a chance to meet him at Spa last year. Nice guy actually, and very polite the handful of fans who stopped for photos.

And that Piquet family helmet design is one of the best in the sport's history!

[vakie]

Originally posted by dde


He didn't explain anything, he just complained about the strategy. He would be right if the 2 drivers were at the same level, like Hamilton and Alonso in 2007 (but in 2007, they alternated every time so that proves that there was no number one, and Alonso complained enough about him not being number one to be sure of that), but it is not the case. He is simply wery very slow in race trim, and that I'd like him to explain why.

Like Piquet. Being always much much heavier than Alonso doesn't explain why he is so slow and so often in the wall. The only thing there's no need to explain about Piquet, is why he can go for a second year in Renault.

I posted several articles in a previous thread about reasons for his slow pace in some races, I think the most important one is this interview.

[PiquetPete]

Originally posted by Henri Greuter



No offence Slyder, just curious.
How do you think about Bourdais? Pretty much the same situation as Piquet, does he deserve another year too in your eyes because dumping him after one year is unfair?
Again, (given our history ) this is no offence or an attack.

Henri

I think Bourdais deserves another season - seems quick to me. No reason to dump him - might have won at Monza without the bad luck (i.e. not being able to start!). Keep him I say.

[Atreiu]

It's only natural.
What I wonder is why the feck was it so hard to have this be annouced ealier and spare te world of futile speculation on Alonso's future.
I give it only a week until the spaniards create more Alonso and Ferrari rumours with some hidden and extravagant contract clauses which would allow a switch to somehow be made.